VANCOUVER — A small group of West Coast automotive writers had an opportunity last week to take what promises to be Canada’s first four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid CUV out for a spin around Stanley Park.

And while the route was short, the skies grey and the vehicle a European-spec model that looks much different than the one that will go on sale here later next year, it was still an electrifying experience. Quite literally.

The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle borrows much of its powertrain technology from the automaker’s iMiEV. Unlike that all-electric vehicle, the Outlander PHEV has a gasoline engine in addition to four electric motors — in this case a 2.0-litre four-cylinder similar to ones used in the RVR and the Lancer.

The Outlander PHEV launched in Japan in January of last year, and is currently for sale throughout Asia, Russia and Europe. As of this past June, some 33,000 have been sold, more than half of those in Europe.

Mitsubishi Canada’s John Arnone believes B.C. will be the strongest market in the country for the Outlander PHEV.

“British Columbia bucks a national sales trend with the Outlander ranking as the province’s top-selling Mitsubishi model,” he said, noting that in the rest of the country it is the RVR followed by the Lancer.

B.C., particularly Metro Vancouver, is also a strong market for electric vehicles of all sorts, and the ever-expanding charging station network speaks to that acceptance.

The Outlander PHEV in Stanley Park during our brief drive of the plug-in hybrid.

PHEVs are nothing new to Canadians, as a number of automakers have been selling plug-in hybrids for more than a year now. Those include the Chevrolet Volt, the Cadillac ELR, the Toyota Prius PHEV and two offerings from Ford, the C-Max Energi and the Fusion Energi.

What is new about this vehicle is the all-wheel drive aspect, provided by electric motors attached to all four wheels. The rear motors are identical to the ones used on the iMiEV, while the front motors are designed specifically for the CUV. Unlike traditional all-wheel drive vehicles, there is no driveshaft connecting the front and rear axles, meaning there is reduced mechanical loss.

The Outlander PHEV features three-driving modes, which are automatically selected by the PHEV computer system.

In EV, or pure electric, mode, the batteries supply power to the four motors that drive the wheels, for a total horsepower output calculation of 80. EV mode is for urban driving up to 120 km/h, and will stay engaged under those conditions up to a range of approximately 52 kilometres (note: that number is for the 2014 Euro-spec model, and Mitsubishi can’t say for sure what the range of the 2016 Outlander PHEV to be sold in Canada will be.) After the batteries have run down to approximately 33 per cent, the gasoline engine will start up to recharge the batteries to all the vehicle to remain in EV mode.

This scenario describes the second drive mode, Series Hybrid mode, where the four wheels are still powered by the electric motors and the batteries are charged by a generator powered by the gasoline engine. This mode is engaged when more than 80 horsepower is required at speeds below 120 km/h — a hard acceleration from a stand still or getting up to highway speed on an on-ramp — and when the battery is empty and the vehicle is travelling at speeds below 64 km/h. The maximum horsepower output in Series Hybrid Mode is calculated up to 160.

The third mode is Parallel Hybrid mode, in which the gas engine directly powers the front wheels and the rear electric motors are used for additional power and acceleration. Calculated horsepower in this mode is 200, and is engaged at speeds above 120 km/h and when the battery is empty, at speeds above 64 km/h.

And like all hybrids, the CUV has regenerative braking, but thanks to those motors at all four wheels, it is a more robust system than two-wheel drive PHEVs.

Likewise, a unique and clever paddle-shifter braking system allows the driver to manually select the strength of the regenerative braking on a scale from zero to five.

Mitsubishi incorporated much of the i-MiEV’s electric motor system in the Outlander PHEV.

Other driver selectable PHEV features include two buttons on the centre console: Battery Save Mode and Battery Charge Mode.

The former, when engaged, keeps the battery charge at a level ideal for optimal EV driving, with the gas engine turning on when the charge level dips below that level and off when that level is achieved.

The latter, when pushed on, will automatically start the gas engine to charge the battery up to 80 per cent.

As to charging times using an external power cord at home or at a charging station, on a 120v system, its 6.5 hours; four hours on a 240v charger; and just 30 minutes on a DC440v charger.

As mentioned, we only did a few kilometres in the Euro-spec models, and all of that under 65 km/h, meaning pure EV mode was the norm unless we pushed the battery charge button or really stomped on the gas.

Despite that short time behind the wheel, the Outlander PHEV appeared to be a very refined and well-handling vehicle, with no shortage of acceleration when required, and a nice quiet ride experience.

All told, a very tidy PHEV system and in a package that will appeal to those looking for a very economical weekday commuter that can double as a solid and capable weekend warrior for getaways into the mountains.

Pricing and specs for the Canadian model won’t be available for another year, with the first models expected in showrooms in the fall of 2015.

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